GuidesSanta Ana
The 11am rule on Santa Ana
You cannot hike Santa Ana volcano alone, the group leaves at eleven, and arriving at 11.15 costs you the day. What the hike is actually like.
A destination guide · Santa Ana
Santa Ana Volcano
A turquoise crater lake at 2,381 metres.
13.85°N · 89.63°WCover: Roberto Peña / Unsplash
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Santa Ana is the highest volcano in El Salvador and the single most photographed thing in the country, for the good reason that there is a sulphur-turquoise lake sitting in the crater at the top of it.
The rule that catches people out
You cannot hike it alone. Groups leave the ranger station at Cerro Verde at 11am, with a guide and, usually, a tourist police escort. If you arrive at 11.15 you have missed it and the day is gone. Be at the park by 10.30.
What it is actually like
Two hours up on a loose volcanic path, exposed for the last forty minutes, with a wind at the top that will make you glad you brought a layer nobody thought you would need in Central America. Then the crater, which does not photograph as well as it looks.
Pair it with the lake
Coatepeque is thirty minutes down the far side, and a cold swim at three in the afternoon after that descent is one of the better hours available in this country.
§01 — Practical
The essentials.
Best time to visit
December to March. Clear mornings, no cloud on the crater, cold at the top.
01
Things to do
- The summit hike itself, two hours up, an hour and a half down
- Cerro Verde national park, at the trailhead, for the cloud forest
- Lake Coatepeque afterwards, thirty minutes downhill, for the swim you will want
- Izalco volcano from the same park, if your legs still work
- Coffee at a finca on the road up, which is some of the best in the country
02
Where to stay
- Casa Verde Santa AnaHostel in Santa Ana city. Runs the cheapest reliable shuttle to the trailhead.$15–45
- Hotel Sahara Santa AnaSimple, central, air conditioning, close to the bus terminal.$40–60
- Cardedeu, Lake CoatepequeSplurge on the lake. Thirty minutes from the trail, worth the money.$180–280
03
Where to eat
- Simmer Down, Santa AnaWhere hikers eat afterwards. Big plates, cold beer.
- The trailhead comedoresPupusas and coffee at Cerro Verde before you start. Two dollars.
- Restaurante Rancho Alegre, CoatepequeLake fish on a deck over the water.
§02 — On the ground
A short itinerary
- 01Day 1Get to Santa AnaBus or drive from San Salvador, 90 minutes. Sleep early.
- 02Day 2The hikeLeave at 7am, summit by 11.30, lake by 3, swimming by 3.15.
- 03Day 3The lakeA slow morning on Coatepeque before heading back or on to Ruta de las Flores.
§03 — Districts
Where to point your feet.
01
Cerro Verde park
The trailhead, the car park, and the cloud-forest loop.
02
The summit
2,381m. Sulphur, wind, and the lake in the crater.
03
Santa Ana city
40 minutes below. Where you sleep, eat, and catch the shuttle.
04
Lake Coatepeque
Down the other side. The reward.
From the journal, in Santa Ana Volcano
